


Mean It in the Morning

by wonderwheelzier



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drunken Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 00:24:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19779502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderwheelzier/pseuds/wonderwheelzier
Summary: for this prompt: "can you write something where richie is dating someone who treats him like shit but he’s only doing it so he can get over eddie. and then they’re at a party and eddie drunkenly confesses his feelings and immediately richie breaks things off with his s/o" (sent to my tumblr @wonderwheelzier)





	Mean It in the Morning

Richie showed up to the party late and in a bad mood. Justin couldn’t go, so he’d told Richie that he wasn’t allowed to go either. Richie had not-so-politely reminded him that he was his own person, that Justin had no say in where he went and when. Predictably, Justin had sneered at him and called him a slut. “Sorry that I don’t want my boyfriend drooling in the lap of every person he sees.” That had Richie close to breaking, close to saying what he always wanted to when his boyfriend got like this: _If I’m such a slut then why are you dating me?_ But then the dread would settle in Richie’s stomach, a reminder that Justin was the only one who wanted him at all. If Richie wanted to feel loved - and _god_ was he desperate to feel wanted - then Justin was his only option. Still, Richie had left, and not without an eye roll so severe he thought he might’ve strained a muscle.

His blood was still boiling as he made his way over to the kitchen to grab a drink, but a familiar and very drunken exclamation of, “Richie!” made him stop in his tracks. All of the ice melted from his veins, from his stance, and he could feel warmth spreading uncontrollably through him as he turned to see Eddie stumbling toward him. “You’re here!” Eddie threw his arms around Richie’s waist, his head falling against Richie’s chest. “I _missed_ you!” Richie couldn’t help but smile as Eddie beamed up at him before nuzzling his face into his neck.

Richie wrapped his arm around Eddie’s waist and held him up. “Did you now?”

“Of course I did! You’re my bestestestest friend in the whole world!”

“Well, I missed my _bestestestest_ friend, too. You seem like you’re having fun,” he chuckled.

“Not really,” Eddie huffed. “Everyone that’s not you is so _boring_.”

“Whoa, better make sure Bev doesn’t hear you say that,” Richie joked through the blush that now covered his cheeks.

Eddie pouted up at Richie in a way that had his heart stopping. His cheeks were a soft pink, his eyes starry and so, so brown as they looked up at him. “I mean it. You’re the only fun person I know.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then, huh?”

Eddie smiled and said in a voice much softer than Richie expected, “Yeah.” But then his face twisted. “Why are you so late, anyway? Was your dickhead boyfriend being a dick?” Richie felt like he’d been slapped in the face with cold water; he knew Eddie didn’t like Justin, but he’d never been so direct about it.

“Jesus, Eds, why don’t you tell me how you really feel.” He tried to sound annoyed, offended, and while he succeeded at that, he still had his arm around Eddie.

“Sorry. It’s just…” Eddie sighed and pouted again, only now Richie wanted to do anything he could to make that pout go away. “You’re so… _good_ , yanno? Like you actually care about people so _much_ , and I know you like to pretend that you don’t but you _do_. You go out of your way to be nice to people, to protect ‘em. You take such good care of me.”

“I think you may be a wee bit drunk there, my lad,” Richie stammered his way through a bad Irish accent.

But Eddie just smiled that sweet, dazzling smile and shook his head. “No. I mean, _yeah_ , I’m drunk, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. You’re the best person I know, and you always make me laugh. Even when your Voices are shit, you’re still the funniest person I know.”

“Maybe I should take you home,” Richie deflected, his skin uncomfortably warm. Eddie whined, but he let Richie lead him outside.

“God, you’re so _stupid_.”

“Yeah, okay, now you’re sounding like you again,” Richie grinned as they headed down to the street.

“Why do you refuse to let people tell you how amazing you are?” Richie was coming up with a comeback when Eddie’s words slapped him in the face again: “Why do you let him treat you like shit? Why do you think that’s what you deserve?”

Richie was glad they were outside, away from everyone else, because he was starting to struggle to hide the quiver in his voice, the turbulence thrumming under his skin. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Eddie pushed away from Richie to cross his arms and frown at him, in a way that Richie guessed was supposed to look stern. “Justin’s an asshole. And you’re the best person ever and there’s no one in the world who deserves more good things than you and yet you stay with this guy who treats you like you’re nothing.” Eddie’s shoulders fell. A sadness overcame his eyes that made Richie want to reach out to him, but he didn’t. He had to play dumb right now, had to play mad. “You’re everything to me, Rich. Why don’t you want someone who treats you like it?” Richie didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t; he just stood there as Eddie curled in on himself. “Why… why don’t you want me?”

Richie was stunned for a moment, then let out an incredulous, “What?” He couldn’t help the way his voice broke over the word.

Eddie huffed and fell into Richie’s arms. As he was still processing what Eddie was saying, just barely catching him, Eddie laid it on even thicker. “I _love_ you. I’ve always loved you. You deserve the world, someone who will treat you right, and I wanna be that. I could treat you right - or at least try my best. I know I’d be way better than fucking Justin.”

“Let’s get you home, yeah?” Richie gently tugged Eddie forward, guiding his unsteady legs.

“Can you sleep over? You never sleep over anymore.” Yeah, Richie knew that. Justin didn’t like him sleeping over at Eddie’s. And, well, to be fair to Justin, it’s not like his concerns were unfounded - it was obvious to anyone, Justin included, how deeply in love Richie was with Eddie, and sleeping in his bed next to him, his warm skin and tousled hair only made him drown in those feelings.

It was for that exact reason that he slept on Eddie’s couch that night, as Eddie wouldn’t let him leave his apartment, but Richie didn’t want a drunk and vulnerable Eddie cuddling up to him. He didn’t want to take advantage of him, not ever. So he tucked him in and left him water, and when Eddie reached for him he pulled away, crushing his own heart in the process. “Please, Rich,” Eddie whined, “wanna be close to you.”

Richie took a deep, steadying breath, forcing down the instinct that told him to go to Eddie, to do anything he could to protect him, to keep him happy, to get that twinkle back in those puppy dog eyes. “If you still mean everything you said tonight in the morning, then I’ll come cuddle you. But for now I need you to get some rest, okay? And drink some water.”

“I’m always gonna mean it.” Eddie held Richie’s hand and ran his thumb over his heated skin. “And this is why. No one else cares like you do. No one else makes me feel as loved as you make me feel.”

 _God, I love you_. The agonizing thought he couldn’t voice, not yet.

“I especially meant the part about Jason being a dick.”

Richie couldn’t help his smirk. “ _Justin_.”

“I _know_.” Eddie rolled his eyes, but he quickly sank back into sadness. “I wanna be better for you.”

Richie smiled softly. “Go to bed, spaghetti head.”

“I’m _in_ bed.” Richie giggled at Eddie’s exasperation, which luckily drew a small grin from Eddie as well.

“Yeah, you’re welcome for that.” Richie took one last moment to admire the way Eddie’s hand felt in his, to savor the moment, before saying goodnight and heading into the living room.

Richie, unsurprisingly, couldn’t sleep. His heart beat too harshly, his mind raced too rapidly. Eventually he pulled on his shoes, checking on Eddie before heading out.

He could feel his heart fluttering as he neared Justin’s apartment. His hand trembled as he rose it to knock on his door. He swallowed back his fear as he waited for the door to open.

He was eating a bowl of Lucky Charms when Eddie came padding into the room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Eddie stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Richie. It made his racing heart drop to his feet - but he wouldn’t show that. “Mornin’, love monkey,” he winked. “How ya feelin?”

Eddie grimaced at the nickname. “I think that’s the grossest thing you’ve ever called me.” He sat down across from Richie and poured some cereal into the bowl Richie had set out for him. “How long has this milk been out?” he asked suspiciously as he screwed off the cap.

“Oh I left it out all night so it would be nice and warm for you in the morning.”

“You’re disgusting.” But he was smiling. However, the smile quickly turned into a frown, and Richie’s veins turned to ice when he realized where Eddie’s eyes were: Richie’s wrist, which was painted with a blue and purple watercolor handprint. He quickly switched the hand he used to hold his spoon, hiding his right wrist under the table. “Richie.” Eddie’s voice was low, but it quivered with emotion. Anger and concern mostly, both fighting out to be the strongest, both of them horribly contained. “How did that happen?”

Richie shrugged. He looked into his bowl as he pushed the remaining marshmallows around, suddenly not hungry. Richie hadn’t expected Justin to get physically violent with him, and he was still sick and reeling from the way he had grabbed Richie. His wrist throbbed with the memory.

“Did he put his hands on you?” Eddie was seething now, and while Richie would’ve almost been flattered if he were in a better mood, in his present state the anger in Eddie’s voice only made his shrink further into himself. “Hey,” Eddie said then, his voice suddenly soft as a rose. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry. I’m not upset with you, I just want to know what happened. If he hurt you… Rich, I can’t ignore that. I can’t let you go back to him if he-”

“I’m not going back.”

“What?”

Richie finally looked up. Eddie’s hand laid palm up halfway across the table - an invitation. A question. It was so refreshing after the months and months of demands and orders that Richie felt he could nearly cry. “I broke up with him last night. After I talked to you.” Eddie. Sweet, sweet Eddie Kaspbrak who couldn’t hide a single emotion he felt. The second his eyes widened Richie knew he remembered what he’d said. “He didn’t like that, tried to stop me. But by the end of it he was practically pushing me out the door, so I don’t think you need to worry about him.”

“You did this in the middle of the night?”

“It was urgent.”

Eddie’s eyes softened a bit, but they remained wary. He was so close to understanding, but Richie could tell he didn’t want to say anything, didn’t want to misread the situation. If Richie couldn’t read him so well he’d be feeling the same way. “Why? Why couldn’t it wait?”

“Because I wanted to be available as soon as you woke up.” Eddie’s breath hitched, but his hand stayed put, and Richie slowly, gently slipped his own into its cradle. He felt Eddie relax infinitesimally. “I don’t know why I think I deserve to be treated like that. I’m still not totally convinced I deserve all the stuff you were talking about last night. But if you’re willing to try to convince me, I’d be happy to let you.”

“What are you saying?”

Richie gripped Eddie’s hand tighter. “I want you, Eds.” He let out a small, shaky laugh. “I’ve always wanted you. You’re the dream boat that sails through all my dreams, ever since high school. Fuck, _middle_ school even.” Eddie giggled, and _god_ was it nice to see a smile on his face.

“I want you, too. I want to treat you right, and all the other mushy stuff I’m not gonna repeat.”

“Aww, come on, no encore?” Richie pouted. “If I had known that I would’ve recorded it.”

Eddie grinned and shook his head as he stood. “Get up and kiss me, maybe you’ll get another compliment or two out of me.”

“You gonna be this bossy in bed?” Richie waggled his eyebrows as he stood. “I’m into it.” They were both still smiling as Eddie gently cupped Richie’s cheek in his hand and brought their lips together. Richie melted into it, not completely trusting his legs but leaning in further anyway. Eddie pulled back and smiled at him, rested his forehead against his, nuzzled their noses together.

“I mean it, Rich,” he said, his voice soft but words firm. “I’m not gonna let anything like that happen to you again. You’re the best person I’ve ever met, and I’m gonna treat you like it.” Richie had no response to that - no joke, no Voice. He just nodded, willed his eyes to stay dry as he kissed Eddie again, deeply, pushing all of his love and appreciation into it. They barely separated as Eddie walked around the table and guided Richie back into his seat. Eddie sat in his lap, and his weight was everything Richie needed to keep him grounded. “You taste like pure sugar,” Eddie murmured with a grin against Richie’s lips.

“You taste like you didn’t brush your teeth last night.”

Eddie pulled back and huffed, gave a playful little pout. “If you wanted a minty first kiss you could’ve brushed them for me.”

Richie grinned and shook his head. “Nah, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I’d take a thousand hangover breath kisses before letting you off my lap.” He wrapped his arms around Eddie and pulled him in to emphasize his point. But he didn’t kiss him; he just held him, held him close and secure and buried his face in his hair. Felt him bounce in his arms as he giggled. He held him tighter, and he couldn’t imagine ever letting go.


End file.
